Writer Voice - Write You, Not Them...

 

New writers... they're a special breed.

Coming off eons of notebook navel-gazing scribbles and polished pro reading... these new scribes KNOW what's good and what's not, and by gum, they'll write freakishly polished first drafts, or not write at all! If The New Yorker or the New York Times don't hire them on the spot after just their first article flying into the ether, then, at least, their first Pulitzer Prize will arrive by UPS later today. Yes. Right out of the gate. They will be THAT good.

I love new writers. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Full of vim and vinegar. And hopes higher than Everest (with deadly literary crevasses as deep, but don't tell these gleeful souls).

The Newbie Writer Secret Recipe: they've read everything their favorite writer has ever written, and they have that pro scribe's literary voice DOWN COLD. These freshly brewed hacks will explode onto the word crafting scene as Idol Scribe 2.0. They even bought the smoking jacket and cravat their fav writer wears! There's nothing to stop their stratospheric popularity now, boy. One typed out word, and their accolades and riches await.

Did I mention I just WUV newbie writers?

~~~

Author Vignette:

For years, newbie writer, Hunter S. Thompson, typed out passages from F. Scott Fitzgerald's works in an attempt to morph into being Scott. Hunter often said that as Fitz examined, and wrote from inside, the well-heeled world, he, Hunter, committed literary B & E into that same world. And anyone who reads these two writers side by side will wholeheartedly agree. Their writer voices couldn't be farther apart if they tried, even if they shared the same deathly love affair with booze.

~~~

Stories like this wane and waft all over the place, where a fan dives deep into their idol's world, to emulate, to inhale that world. But although mechanics and line style can be well refined in following the greats, more often than not their voice is never found within those well-celebrated pages.

Why, you ask?

Because they are Them, and you are You. And you'll not be each other, ever.

New writers are frequently paralyzed by this need to BE somebody else. This is probably why they began to scribble in those notebooks in their teens.

They think to themselves, "If only I did this, or said things this way, or bought that, or travelled there, or drank here, or schmoozed with whomever my idol sidled up to..."

STOP.

STOP thinking, doing that.

You're wasting time and money you do NOT have for a quest that can never be fulfilled.

Hint: The world does NOT NEED another Them. We already have Them. We NEED YOU.

That one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable YOU.

We need YOUR viewpoint on our human experience. We need your heart, emotions, intellect and drive.

Yes, at first, as the newbie writer you are, your literary You will come with many mechanical warts, but over time and much practice, you will open our eyes and professionally deliver something we could have never received from those already celebrated Them's, not if we hunted for said for a million years. 

Scary Fact: Your word gifts will only last as long as you do, and every moment you're wasting trying to suppress them to be Them is time you're stealing from us — your future reader fans.

HOMEWORK: STOP trying to be someone you're not. Sit down, and start pounding those keys, expecting, nay DEMANDING, your literary warts to show, so you can correct and learn from them, and get ever closer to the stellar You, we're dying to read.

Moral of the Fitzgerald/Thompson Twinning Writer Voice Tale: both ended up married to the bottle, losing their ability to write, and dying a pathetic death well before their time. I guess that's something that's aptly copied over from idol to fan. Yay. (Not.)

Can't Write Your Own Words? Then Type Out Other's...

 

There is nothing wrong with copying. It's sometimes the best way to become unique.

Many of our greats have done it — I mean sitting down and typing out works written by your literary idol.

Hunter S. Thompson typed out F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

Hunter said F. Scott wrote about life from inside the rarefied world, while Hunter said he wanted to do something similar... by smashing the window panes, breaking and entering into that rarefied world. Possibly the difference between living on the right side versus the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. But you'll notice both authors from both sides made permanent societal dents.

[A Side Tangent: I absolutely HATE when writing conference panelists say, "Everything has already been written, so don't try to think your works will be something brand new, just a new version of the old." I always wonder why in the flying feathery hell they feel the need to say this, even if it's true? Such defeatism, even if valid, defeats the new writer psyche. I realize their intent, but I think the writing world can be so cruel to new writers sometimes. It's no wonder, so many literary artists give up the ghost too soon. I believe the writing world, like no other artistic community, is rife with self-conscious, jealous souls...]

Tangent over. Now, back to the story...

Hunter adored F. Scott's style, and in his early writing days, he wanted to emulate that style, so the best way he knew how was to type out the celebrated author's published works. And over time, that rudimentary practice had Hunter finding his own voice in typing out F. Scott's word choice, scene set-ups, and emotionally driven, symbolic visuals. 

In copying Fitz, Hunter didn't actually copy Fitz. He discovered himself.

Many new writers have great difficulty finding their own voice, and that can lead to a stagnation in their writing process. How does one speak if you haven't a voice? you ask. And I say, "Exactly."

Many new writers, as I've previously said, are inherently shy people, so it can be they haven't much of an outstanding voice in their everyday lives, so how would they have a voice on paper?

I never personally met Hunter Thompson, but he struck me as a typical introvert who needed that alcoholic/drug fix to be less of an introvert, which, of course, was his downfall in the end. But it shows to me, he needed help with his literary voice, too.

If you see yourself this way, you're in good company. So many literary greats have copied down so many literary greats when being introverted in the beginning of their career hindered their success.

HOMEWORK: On the days you simply cannot find the courage to write down your own words, let this not stop you from showing up and doing the work! Instead, copy. Type or hand write your literary idol's works — a few sentences, a paragraph, a whole chapter, and for as long as it takes you to comfortably start writing words on your own. In so doing, you'll sense the flow of that author — in the timing, suspense, foreshadowing, symbolic placement, in atmosphere creation, in the author's courage to say their truth as you will undoubtedly do one day. Typing out the works of the greats is a great start down your own artistic path.

Showing up to work can take many forms. As long as you are working the words, your brain is maturing as a scribe. It's when you sit there on your couch and do nothing but ruminate that you are literally doing nothing to advance as an artist.

[As to that panelist who says everything has already been written: always be ready as an artist to break any universal truth... ;-)]